Murder convict escapes from custody

A 50-year-old murder convict, Ashok Yadav, serving life-imprisonment at Dasna prison in Ghaziabad, escaped from police custody after he was taken to AIIMS for treatment.

Yadav, who has eight criminal cases of murder, abduction and of Arms Act against him, escaped on Sunday afternoon on the pretext of going to the washroom. He was admitted in the Rajendra Prasad Eye Centre at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

Ghaziabad police have lodged a case at Hauz Khas police station against four police personnel who were in-charge of securing him. “At around 12:15pm he asked two of the four police men to allow him go to washroom, from where he escaped. We have registered a case against the four police men of UP police,” said a senior police officer, on the condition of anonymity.

Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Raghubir Lal said Yadav was allowed to undergo treatment, following a Ghaziabad court orders. “He had repeatedly appealed to Ghaziabad court that he should be treated for glucoma at AIIMS,” Lal said. He told HT that a reward of Rs5000 has been announced for information about Yadav.

Criminal cases against Yadav include serious charges such as murder, attempt-to-murder, abduction, Arms Act, Gangster Act, rioting and others. Yadav’s wife, Ruby Yadav — a former zila-panchayat member, was gunned down in Vijay Nagar area of Ghaziabad in March.

Yadav is an accused in a triple-murder case which occurred at Masoori area of Ghaziabad in June, 1998. He’s also accused of another double-murder case of November, 2008.